Plan for safe and affordable elder care, at home.

Medicaid home care programs in Hampden County: income guidelines and eligibilty regs
Medicare Coverage for Home Health Aides | Q&A on Medicare Home Care| | Medicare’s Coverage of Home Health Aide Care: A Case Study

Medicaid regulations have always put limits on the way the spouse of a nursing home resident holds ownership of assets. These regulations are now relevant to home care couples who have countable assets worth over this year's Community Spouse Resource Allowance.

MassHealth now imposes these same asset restrictions on the spouse of the person who needs home care. Click to read Home and Community-based Services Waiver-Frail Elder proposed regulations (scroll down to page 9). For most home care programs, the income of an applicant's spouse is not counted. MassHealth Training Unit Update.

Medicare also pays for home health care. The Medicare reimbursement to home health agencies is lower if the patient was not admitted to a hospital before returning home.

If you're married, how you hold title (ownership) to your house and other assets is important to success with your MassHealth application for Home and for Communnity based services. Your recorded Title information will also determine whether you can save your house from Probate Estate Recovery (explained in this video):

Read the Case: Estate of Jacqueline Ann Kendall | Docket

If you are planning an extended commitment to care giving, be sure to look at all sources for home care payment and the effects on your own finances, now and in the future. Without propoer planning, people who provide long-term care could cause damage to their own physical health and even suffer serious financial consequences (including reduced Social Security, pension and retirement income) because of reduced time in the workforce. Time taken away from a career to care for a parent, as well as the expenses of elder care, can multiply a family's financial problems.

Can Paid Caregivers Sue the Patients they work for, and Patients' Families? Remove barriers and trip hazards from your home. Work around incapacity, and maximize capacity, by re-thinking the way, shape and form of your home and your Activities of Daily Living:

I can help you find ways to pay for at-home elder care with Veterans Aid and Attendance, Medicaid, and other resources. A Caregiver Contract is an important planning tool that protects everyone. Call (413) 567-5600 to get help for your plan.